New here? Welcome! On the MBSF podcast, we explore how food connects us to our minds, bodies, spirits, the earth, and our communities. In the bi-weekly “Intention Series,” I share ways we can bring gentle focus and deeper connection into our days—both in the kitchen and out.
Hello, my loves,
This is the episode that almost didn’t happen.
It was nearly five o’clock in the evening when I recorded this, after a day of tech glitches, overflowing to-do lists, and an ever-growing pile of unanswered emails. You know those days when everything feels like a slog, like you’re wading through wet cement? That was my day.
I’d been holding so tightly to my plan—lists, deadlines, productivity—that I couldn’t find the spark of inspiration for this episode. Not just to record, but more importantly, I had no idea what to say—I kept waiting for the intention to surface… but nothing. Finally, with a deep breath, I told myself: I will let it go.
And just like that, I laughed. The tension softened. Because of course, that was the intention all along.
This week’s intention: I will let go
Letting go can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a full release—a completion or ending, like a leaf dropping to the soil to compost. More often, it’s simply setting something down until we’re ready to pick it back up again. But always, letting go asks us to loosen our grip—to surrender.
Letting go might look like:
Softening your grip on a plan, a deadline, or a to-do list.
Releasing expectations of a perfect dinner or balanced diet.
Allowing yourself to pause when the work you love starts to feel heavy.
It doesn’t mean giving up. It means loosening control so that something new—ease, joy, or inspiration—can come through.
In the kitchen
This week, notice where you’re gripping. Maybe it’s around what you should be cooking, how your meals should look, or how your kids should eat. What happens if you loosen that grip, even just a little?
Maybe dinner becomes something simpler, or maybe the music goes on and you dance while chopping onions. Because letting go can also be a gateway to joy.
(p.s. Those Gochujang Salmon Bowls that I mentioned I was going to make that night? In an even bigger expression of letting go, I handed off the recipe to my husband and went to pick up my kids instead. Sweet, sweet surrender.)
You can listen to today’s episode right here, or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, or You Tube.
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Until next time, may your week—and your kitchen—be filled with intention and ease.
With love,
Nicki
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Links:
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Gochujang Salmon Bowls:
